The Middle - The Final Final Redux
by futuremoviewriter
Summary: An alternate version of The Final Final as to what would have happened if Axl had written down the right time. Or rather if he was warned of the mistake before he it was too late. Let's pick it up where when he and Lexie were talking.


**EXT. East Indiana State, Outside the Winnebago**

Axl Heck and his girlfriend Lexie are holding hands and facing each other while the other students around them are partying and celebrating the end of finals. Lexie's back is to the Winnebago. He's told Lexie that he has to study and that he promises they'll hang out before she goes away for the summer.

Lexie- "Okay, go study. I won't get in your way."

The two move in and share a quick kiss and then Axl proceeds to walk towards the Winnebago to go back in as Lexie turns around to watch him. Four other students approach Axl and Lexie. Axl recognizes them from his class.

Student 1- "Excuse me Ax. Did you say the exam was at 3 on Friday?"

Axl is perplexed.

Axl– "Uh…I did. Why?"

Student 2- "We all wrote down 9."

Lexie's eyes widen, Axl jaw drops.

Lexie- "Are you sure it's at 9?"

Axl- "You're messing with me dudes that's not cool! I can't afford to miss this or I don't graduate!"

Student 3- "Positive. 3 PM Friday is when Kepley said he's _posting_ all the grades."

Axl's eyes widen and he sighs in relief.

Axl- "God! That was too close! Who knows what would have happened if I went there at 3 and missed it!"

Student 4- "Comedic hijinks would have ensured that resulted in success, but without emotional fulfillment? Something like that."

Axl- "Well disaster averted! Thanks a lot guys!"

Students 1-4 (all at once)- "You're welcome Axl!"

Students 1-4 walk away, Axl turns back to Lexie. Both smile at each other.

Axl- "Whew! Did you hear that babe!? I almost missed it! But I Won't! Now, I'll be done even sooner than I hoped for!"

Lexie- "I look forward to it when you do. Now where was I?"

Lexie turns around and raises her arms up triumphantly.

Lexie- "Woo hoo! I am done!"

The other students partying voice their approval and Lexie high fives Axl's friend and roommate Charles "Hutch" Hutchinson as she walks by. Axl gives a small sigh as he stands in the doorway watching her go, but it's a relieved and determined one.

Frankie Heck (voiceover)- "Axl wasn't as bummed to not be celebrating with everyone as he could have been since now he realized that things could have actually gone horribly wrong compared to the way they were now."

 **INT. Inside Classroom Building, In Classroom**

It's that Friday, about two hours at least after 3:00. Axl is sitting down at the desk finishing up his test. He closes the booklet once he's done.

Frankie (v.o.)- "Axl didn't really have anything to worry about in between studying and taking the test, but it was one of the most nerve-wracking experiences of his life."

Axl looks up and everyone else except Professor Kepley is gone. He's the last one to finish. He gulps, considering the idea that he might not have done so well. He opens the booklet again a second, but then closes it and gives a sigh of satisfaction, confident in how he's done in the moment.

 **EXT. Outside Classroom Building**

Lexie is standing around outside the building. Others are passing by or standing around as well. Axl comes flying out of the double doors excitedly running towards her.

Axl- "Woo! Yeah! I'm done!"

The crowd has scattered yells of approval. Axl, the moment he reaches Lexie, picks her up and twirls her around. She laughs, smiling.

Lexie- "That's great!"

Axl puts her down as they take each other's hands.

Lexie- "I knew you could do it."

Axl- "Well, I'm officially all yours now."

Lexie- "Just the way I like it."

She looks up to him admiringly and they each smile. They can't believe their luck. Can't believe how blissful these feelings they have for each other are.

Lexie- "I'm so proud of you."

Axl- "Thanks. I guess I'm proud of myself too."

They move into each other and kiss. Their heads motioning back and forth as they hold each other and the shot pans out.

 **INT. Gumford Falls, Sue and Lexie's Apartment**

Axl and Lexie walk in holding hands as the door opens.

Axl- "Only thing is that I'm not sure how I did. I mean, I know I studied endlessly and I'm pretty sure I knew this stuff, but there is such a thing as overstudying."

Lexie closes the door behind her as Axl walks ahead.

Lexie- "Would you relax? You did great. You did everything right."

Axl walks over to the couch and sits down. Lexie goes to the kitchen to get a glass out of the cabinet. She takes it to the fridge, opens the fridge, pulls out a pitcher, pours herself a drink and then promptly puts the pitcher back in the fridge and closes it.

Axl- "Yeah, well if I did do well, it's a new sensation for me and that's why it feels so unfamiliar."

Lexie walks around to the couch and sits down next to him.

Lexie- "You shouldn't let it get to you. You did all you could, so there's no reason things should go wrong."

Axl- "Yeah, but once my dad helped me study real hard for a test and I only got a C, so studying like hell is not a guarantee that I did well enough. Best I'm hoping for is a 75 cause that means I passed."

Lexie- "I think you did better than that! You don't give yourself enough credit."

Axl- "I suppose, so you mind if I check to see when the grades will be posted?"

Lexie- "I can tell you when. It'll be about 3:00."

Axl- "How do you know that?"

Lexie- "That guy from your class said so, remember?"

Axl- "Heh. Oh yeah, I forgot about that."

Lexie- "It was important. That's why I didn't forget. You're so worried about how you did, I'm surprised you didn't remember."

Axl- "Well I would have, but as I said, I don't want to think about that right now. It stresses me out."

Lexie- "Well like I said, you have nothing to worry about. I know you did great. You got this!"

Axl- "Yeah, I suppose when you say it, it makes me feel more confident about how it went. So…where do you want to go now that I'm a free man? Plenty of action to be found on campus before everybody's gone!"

Lexie- "Let's not go anywhere just yet. I want to just sit and talk for now."

Axl smirks.

Axl- "I think you mean sit and stare at the incredibly handsome stud that you were lucky enough to pick up back in April after months of denying your feelings for him."

Lexie smiles knowingly.

Lexie- "Oh, is that so?"

Axl- "Yeah! I tell ya, you really hit the jackpot with this guy right here."

Lexie- "Well, I _am_ the lucky one. I'm lucky to have you. I really am."

Axl- "Thanks. I feel like I don't deserve you though. You're smart, you're pretty, you're rich -not that it would matter if you weren't, it wouldn't- It's just…you're…amazing. I'm wondering how I got so lucky. Even now that it's been a month since we started going out. I certainly don't seem like I'd be the kind of guy you'd go for and truth be told, you've seen the worst of me!"

Lexie- "I felt a sense of challenge I suppose. Not just with you, but with myself. All my life, I've had things I wanted just handed to be whenever I asked. Now don't get me wrong, I didn't ask for a lot! But at the same time, it felt unfulfilling. I felt like I couldn't ever really earn things for myself. When I met Sue, I wasn't drawn to her just by how nice she was."

Axl- "If anything, that should have drove you away as quickly as possible instead."

Lexie gives a small, but playful glare.

Axl- "But I digress. Go on."

Lexie- "I was drawn to the fact that when she wanted something, she fought for it. She wasn't just limited to what she had, but even if she couldn't get what she was fighting for, she could still put as much effort into trying to get that unobtainable thing and still be satisfied either way. Maybe even more so because she knew she did what she could either way. That made me want to not rely on my dad so much and try to figure things out on my own. To be able to have things that I established on my own."

Axl- "What about the apartment? You guys aren't paying for this all your own. Also I'm sorry, but where do I come into this story?"

Lexie- "I'm getting to that. It seemed like a bad thing, but you got us out of The Bin and made me realize that while it's important to work for things, when opportunities for good things are provided, you can't turn them down. This place was the opportunity for Sue and I to be happy and to have a place we could always call our own. And you, the day you walked into our first room to take a nap, you had that same confidence to you that Sue did. And when you showed it in how arrogantly you tried to woo me, I thought you were kidding yourself, but I was flattered that you felt that comfortable to do something like that right away. Showed how daring you were. I didn't think much of it at first because then you were with April and it didn't seem ideal, but…the day you caught me, that was the day I felt we connected somehow. That you were truly something special and that I would regret if I didn't go for it."

Axl- "You saving anything for the vows or are you just laying it all out right here?"

Lexie laughs, still smiling.

Axl- "Well, I knew the second I first met you that you were the prettiest girl I'd ever seen. I was simultaneously more aware of how I acted around you, but at the same time, felt I could act however I wanted and not worry about it. I know I give Sue a hard time like all the time, but you're important to her. And I didn't try anything because then I could ruin something that couldn't be fixed if I did. It was hard to pretend I wasn't. Seeing you all the time, wanting to be around you, but feeling it wasn't right. It was easy to pretend that you liked me, then I found out you really did. It was a relief, but it was terrifying at the same time. You gave up the Bahamas…for me."

Lexie- "It was nothing."

Axl- "No it wasn't Lex. It certainly wasn't nothing."

Lexie- "Well you told Sue you wouldn't go to that party and you did. You did for me. To tell me how you felt, didn't you?"

Axl- "Then my exes all showed up and thank God I didn't! I was still with April, that would have been awful!"

Lexie puts her hand on his cheek.

Lexie- "The wait was rough, but the payoff made it all the more satisfying."

Axl smiles and puts his hand on her cheek.

Axl- "We lost so much time. Then again, things had to happen the way they did for me to really appreciate your feelings for me and to be able to return them too. I wouldn't change a thing."

They move in and kiss. He places his hand on her back and moves the other one to her shoulder. She keeps her hand on his cheek and puts the other one around his waist. His hand then moves back to her cheek and the other one to her waist. She moves one hand to his back and the other one to his chest.

 **INT. Sue and Lexie's Apartment, Nearly Six Hours Later**

Axl and Lexie are sitting at the table in front of the laptop. They're holding hands with each other. Axl is breathing in and out heavily. There is a beep on the computer as 3:00 arrives.

Axl- "It's up! Oh God, you look! I can't do it!"

Lexie- "Are you sure?"

Axl- "Yeah, I can't take it! You do it!"

Lexie clicks and looks at the screen. Her jaw drops open and her eyes widen.

Lexie- "Oh my God!"

Axl- "What!? What is it!? How bad is it!?"\

Lexie- "You didn't get a 75."

Axl opens his eyes and looks in horror. His jaw drops and his eyes widen as well.

Lexie- "You got an 86!"

Axl- "I did! Holy crap!"

The two laugh and they hug.

Axl- "This is awesome! I'm graduating!"

Lexie is beaming.

Axl- "You were right. I really had nothing to worry about. I know it didn't seem like it, but coming from you, I believed it."

They hug again.

Axl- "You know, even with all the bad stuff that happened to you on Spring Break in Orson, I was still glad that you were around."

Lexie- "Really? You called it the worst of all time!"

Axl- "Only because you were around and I couldn't be with you! Especially now that I know you clearly wanted to be around me!"

Lexie- "I'm never gonna stop wanting that."

Axl- "Yeah, me neither."

Lexie takes Axl's face in her hands and they kiss.

Lexie- "Wow. You really need to brush your teeth."

Axl looks perplexed.

Lexie- "I don't care."

Axl gets the joke and they kiss again.

Frankie (vo)- "That's the thing about confidence. You don't just instill it in yourself, but the people you care about instill it in you and you instill it in the people you care about too."

CUT TO BLACK.


End file.
